Halifax clarity limit reduced

parker21_2

My credit card limit was reduced with no notice from £2500 to £500. I got the card in February 2013 and used it exclusively for travel abroad (2 trips since Feb, expenses each time over £500, paid in full right away).

Do I have any chances to reinstate the limit or at least get it back to something like £1000 so that I can use it when traveling? I'm about to give them a call... and if they do reinstate it will they run a credit check again?

Many thanks!

parker21_2

Ok so just got off the phone with them and the guy said he doesn't know why it was reduced and that I should have been sent a letter which he'll ask to be resent.

I have a Reward bank acct (not my main account) and a mortgage with them.

Now, it is true that in the past 6 months I applied for two credit cards (Tesco purchases 0% and the Halifax Clarity one) but my total CC debt is around £1000 at 0% interest and total available credit over £15000. Never missed a payment and I'm on the electoral roll so my credit file should be solid.

How and why do they make these decisions? without even announcing customers...

opinions4u

You've increased your available credit elsewhere.

They don't want to be as exposed to what is now a greater risk.

parker21_2

How am I perceived as a risk when I never missed a payment on anything in my entire life? And I don't have debt (£1000 at 0% is hardly debt... I could pay it off now, although I guess that's irrelevant for them) What upsets me is that they didn't bothered to call and discuss, okay perhaps I don't need £2500 but £1000 would have been fine for me too. Now I have to request an increase if I want the extra £500.

opinions4u

You've gone from available credit £2,500 (never utilised) to £15,000. That's a big red flag.

Yes, they should have told you but there is logic behind the limit reduction.

parker21_2

I didn't go from 2.5K to 15K. I just stated that my total available limit on all cards was something like 15K and I only had 1K debt, so very low utilization ratio. and the Halifax card was used -- two months active since February.

Out of the 15K limit, 2.5K limit was the clarity card and 3.5K limit was Tesco 0% - these two card were obtained in the past six months. I already had a Barclaycard and an MBNA with 9K limit or so.

En fin, I don't understand how UK banks operate. I'm coming from Canada where I still have two credit cards and an unsecured credit line open (all open and total limit over $30K, not used in the past 3 years, and nobody lowered my limits for not using).

You-kip

TBH OP no one on here will be able to tell you why it was reduced but we can all but guess and that's it.

Many people have 1000's of credit available to them with No credit reductions so I would personally just take it as you've been unlucky.

zerog

Canada has a different attitude to credit cards.
£500 is still ok, if you only use it for cash withdrawals and then pay it off instantly...

slinga

parker21 wrote: »

En fin, I don't understand how UK banks operate.

Who does?

Not even the bankers.

IMO you're not a big enough risk to warrant them lending you money.

Paying back loans on the dot is not worth anything to banks.